I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of pressure vessels, and in particular, the present invention is concerned with pressure vessels formed from tubing with the tubing bent to form a ring with the tube ends aligned and joined together to form a toroidal shaped enclosure for containing fluid under pressure.
II. Cross Reference to Related Applications
This application is related to copending patent application Ser. No. 106,929 filed Dec. 26, 1979; entitled Portable Modular Beverage Dispenser.
III. Description of the Prior Art
Pressure vessels have been formed in a wide variety of configurations, such as the interconnected and intersecting hollow spheroids shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,106,494, and 2,171,972 or the oblate shell shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,401.
It is also known to form high pressure vessels from a length of tubing wound in a helical form as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,449. U.S. Pat. Nos., 2,336,140; 3,432,060; 3,502,075; and 3,505,996 show pressure tanks formed of a tube wound upon itself in a plurality of turns. U.S. Pat. No. 2,330,118 shows a reaction chamber formed with parallelly disposed conduits which are joined at either end by a pair of curved conduits to form a substantially oval shaped chamber. Inlet and outlet conduits are connected to either of the curved conduits. U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,442 discloses a toroidal pressure vessel formed from a plurality of plates riveted together. Upper and lower walls extending diametrically across the center opening define a second pressure vessel.